Thai PM-elect appoints veterans to the cabinet in an effort to instill “confidence”
Thailand’s new prime minister chose the former head of the Treasury Department, the top oil and gas executive, and a well-known diplomat to run the foreign, energy, and finance ministries on Saturday. He said that these choices would “bring confidence” to a country that has been through a lot of political and economic change.
Anutin Charnvirakul, a smart negotiator who has been a mainstay of Thai politics through years of chaos, was chosen prime minister on Friday. This ended days of drama and a race for power in which he beat the country’s most successful political party.
Sihasak Phuangketkeow, an economist, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, and Auttapol Rerkpiboon, an executive at energy giant PTT, were called “top executives in the organizations they will be responsible for” by the speaker.
Ekniti works for the finance ministry and was once thought to be a possible candidate for head of the central bank. Auttapol, on the other hand, ran the country’s biggest business, the state-owned energy company PTT Group (PTT.BK), opens in a new tab.
Sihasak, who used to be permanent secretary of Thailand’s foreign service, will return as minister. This comes as a fragile peace deal with neighboring Cambodia is still in place, five days after a border incident turned into a fight that killed at least 43 people.
The appointments are official once they get royal approval. They come at a very important time for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which has been growing more slowly than its peers in the area for months because of political unrest.
“NO LOOKING FOR RESTRAINT”
The defeat of Chaikasem Nitisiri by Anutin on Friday was embarrassing for the ruling Pheu Thai party, which is led by the nationalist juggernaut of powerful billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra left Thailand late Thursday for Dubai, where he spent most of his 15 years of self-imposed exile.
In June, Anutin quit Pheu Thai’s alliance, which led to the political crisis. Last week, a Thai court fired Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was Thaksin’s daughter and mentee.
It was Anutin, a conservative who could win over people from different parties, who got elected. He did this by making a deal with the People’s Party, the biggest opposition party in parliament, promising to hold a referendum on changing the constitution and hold an election within four months in exchange for their support.
Late Friday night, he called for everyone to work together to “move our country forward at a speed that could make up for the opportunities that were lost” and said the government would “strictly enforce the law.”
“There will be no helping hands to anyone, it will not be used to abuse anyone, and there will be no seeking of revenge on anyone.”
